Iran not to yield on Lebanon in talks with US: senior official

Iran will not "back down from" the ceasefire in Lebanon, a "red line" for the Islamic republic, in talks with the United States, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday when commenting on the recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States.

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, reaffirmed his country's position regarding the ongoing conflict between the U.S. ally Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran.

A 14-point MoU between Iran and the United States has been reached after more than three months of deadly clashes, aimed at ending military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and launching a 60-day negotiating period between Tehran and Washington. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump electronically signed the document on Thursday.

Rezaei told CGTN that Lebanon remains among Iran's most important red lines in any potential agreement with the United States.

"One of the most important clauses in the memorandum of understanding between us and the Americans concerns Lebanon. This is mentioned in the first clause, which emphasizes Lebanon's territorial integrity and the end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. Lebanon in particular is stressed three times in this understanding, both the end of the war in Lebanon and the preservation of its territorial integrity," he said.

"It means that, according to this agreement, the United States and its allies must end the occupation of Lebanon. This issue is one of the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Americans also know that we will not back down from it," the official said.

He ruled out the possibility of a normalization of ties between Iran and the United States anytime soon.

"No. We will not have relations with the United States, and we will not normalize relations. This is a definite and established position of the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the moment, we are managing hostility with the Americans," Rezaei said.

The U.S. dollar edged lower in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.12 percent to 100.729 at 15:00 (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1477 dollars from 1.1459 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.3234 dollars from 1.3203 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 161.26 Japanese yen, lower than 161.68 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.8066 Swiss francs from 0.8051 Swiss francs, and it advanced to 1.4174 Canadian dollars from 1.414 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar decreased to 9.5742 Swedish kronor from 9.5874 Swedish kronor.